Graeme Reid, 45, from Uddingston, director of the Monklands Replacement Project (MRP), will take to the capital’s streets on April 26.

The director leading the delivery of NHS Lanarkshire’s new hospital is taking on the London Marathon to raise funds for cancer support charity Maggie’s Lanarkshire.

Graeme Reid, 45, from Uddingston, director of the Monklands Replacement Project (MRP), will take to the capital’s streets on April 26.

He will be fundraising for Maggie’s Lanarkshire, which is currently based at the University Hospital Monklands site and will move to the new hospital campus at Wester Moffat, Airdrie.

Maggie’s Lanarkshire is a strategic partner in the development of the new hospital campus, with plans underway to deliver a new Maggie’s centre alongside the future hospital. Maggie’s centres provide free practical, emotional and psychological support to people affected by cancer and their families, offering a calm, welcoming, non-clinical environment at what is often one of the most difficult times in their lives.

Speaking about his marathon challenge, Graeme said: “I can’t think of a more appropriate charity for my marathon fundraising. Maggie’s is one of our strategic partners and we’re working together to deliver a new Maggie’s Lanarkshire on the future hospital site.

“Maggie’s has centres across the UK providing vital support to individuals and families affected by cancer. The environment they create allows people to access expert advice, reassurance and support when they need it most.

“This challenge also gives me the opportunity to directly support the Monklands Replacement Project’s wider commitment to community benefits and to the communities our new hospital will serve. Marathon training has definitely been a challenge, with plenty of early mornings, long weekend runs and a few moments questioning my life choices — but knowing it’s all in support of Maggie’s has kept me going.

“The money I’m raising will go towards supporting the ongoing running of the existing Maggie’s Lanarkshire centre, helping ensure these vital services continue to be available to people who need them now.”

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Lorrie Cameron, centre head at Maggie’s Lanarkshire, praised Graeme’s efforts, saying: “We are incredibly grateful to Graeme for taking on the London Marathon in support of Maggie’s Lanarkshire. His fundraising highlights the strong partnership we have with the Monklands Replacement Project and our shared commitment to supporting people affected by cancer across Lanarkshire.

“Every pound raised helps us to continue offering expert support to people and families at some of the most challenging moments of their lives, both now and as we look ahead to our future centre alongside the new hospital.”

Graeme has already received strong backing from colleagues across the MRP team, including NHS Lanarkshire staff and external partners, who boosted his fundraising through a quiz night.

He has already raised more than £8000 through his fundraising page, with time still to support him as he prepares to run his first marathon this weekend: https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/graeme-reid

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The warnings come after multiple products sold nationwide were recalled over potential health risks.

The Food Standards Agency has issued several “do not eat” notices affecting items stocked across major supermarkets. Among the recalls are certain batches of porridge flagged due to possible contamination. Customers who may have purchased affected products are being advised not to consume them.

Officials say anyone who has bought the products should follow recall guidance, which may include returning items for a refund or disposing of them safely.

Food Recalls Explained

Marks & Spencer recall

Marks & Spencer has issued an urgent recall for a popular yoghurt product over an undeclared allergen risk.

The recall affects its Authentic Greek Yoghurt with Vanilla, after it was found the product may contain gluten which is not listed on the label.

Product: Authentic Greek Yoghurt with Vanilla

Pack size: 500g

Use by: 12 May 2026

According to the Food Standards Agency, the yoghurt may contain gluten, making it a potential health risk for anyone with:

• A gluten allergy
• Gluten intolerance
• Coeliac disease

Because gluten is not declared on the packaging, it poses a serious risk to affected consumers.

Customers who have bought the product and have a gluten allergy or intolerance are being told not to eat it.

Instead, they should return it to their nearest Marks & Spencer store for a full refund.

Saturday 18 April: @marksandspencer is recalling Authentic Greek Yoghurt with Vanilla because of undeclared gluten #FoodAllergy https://t.co/54upEpx7zJ pic.twitter.com/fM8VFRmhDM

— Food Standards Agency (@foodgov) April 18, 2026

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Aldi recall

Aldi shoppers have been issued with a “do not eat” warning after a product recall was issued by the supermarket.

Aldi has recalled The Fishmonger Hot Smoked 2 Salmon Fillets – Honey Roasted because of a packaging error.

The fish has been labelled with an incorrect use by date, meaning it is unsafe to eat two months earlier than customers would assume.

The recall affects products with a use by date of June 25, because they should have a use by date of April 25.

Tuesday 14 April 2026 – ALDI recalls The Fishmonger Hot Smoked 2 Salmon Fillets – Honey Roasted because of incorrect use-by date. #FoodAlert https://t.co/if8JolSCTO pic.twitter.com/4vjojg9XJC

— Food Standards Agency (@foodgov) April 14, 2026

An Aldi spokesman said: “As a precautionary measure, our supplier is recalling the fish because the incorrect use by date is printed on the pack.

“Customers are asked to return this product to their nearest store, where a full refund will be given.

“We apologise that this product did not meet our normal high standards and thank you for your co-operation.

“For further information, please visit help.aldo.co.uk . Customer services can be contacted on 0800 042 0800.”

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) added: “ALDI is recalling the above product. Point of sale notices will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling the product.

“These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product.

“If you have bought the above product, please do not consume it. Instead, return it to the store from where it was purchased for a full refund.”

Tesco recall

Tesco has recalled a Tesco Finest dessert product because it may contain pieces of plastic.

The supermarket giant, along with the Food Standards Agency (FSA), has issued a “do not eat” warning to shoppers who have purchased the dessert.

The recall affects the Tesco Finest Summer Edition Chocolate Affogato Dessert.

It includes all date codes up to and including April 2027.

Thursday 9 April @Tesco recalls Tesco Finest Summer Edition Chocolate Affogato Dessert because it may contain pieces of plastic #FoodAlert https://t.co/3Prij9koBf pic.twitter.com/vrp5mn3h83

— Food Standards Agency (@foodgov) April 9, 2026

An FSA spokesman said: “Tesco is recalling Tesco Finest Summer Edition Chocolate Affogato Dessert because it may contain pieces of plastic.

“This product may contain pieces of plastic which makes the product unsafe to eat.

“Tesco is recalling the above product and has issued a recall notice to alert customers. These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product.

“If you have bought the above product do not eat it.”

A Tesco spokesman added: “If you have purchased the affected product, please do not eat it and instead return it to any Tesco store for a full refund. No receipt is required.

“For further enquiries, please visit the contact page of our website where you will find a variety of ways to get in touch: tesco.com/help/contact.

“No other Tesco products are affected by this recall.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

Porridge recall

Nine porridge products sold at major supermarkets, including Tesco, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s, are being recalled due to “mouse contamination”.

MOMA Foods is recalling various porridge pots and sachet products because of possible mouse contamination at the manufacturing site, making them “unsafe to eat”.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has warned consumers “do not eat” the affected products and instead return them to the store where they were purchased for a full refund.

Sunday 22 March 2026. MOMA Foods is recalling various porridge pots and sachet products because of possible mouse contamination #FoodAlert https://t.co/ZcBEqAqWP1 pic.twitter.com/1FrDYUyX61

— Food Standards Agency (@foodgov) March 22, 2026

The nine MOMA Foods porridge products included in the recall, according to its website and the FSA, are:

• MOMA Almond Butter & Salted Caramel Porridge Pot 55g (1pk, 8pk and 12pk) – M5296, M5297, M5303, M5304, M5315, M5339, M5342 (batch codes)
• MOMA Apple, Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Porridge Pot 65g (1pk and 8pk) – M5261, M5328, M5329, M6026, M6027
• MOMA Banana & Peanut Butter Protein Porridge Pot 65g (1pk and 8pk) – M5248, M5251, M5304, M5307
• MOMA Blueberry & Vanilla Porridge Pot 65g (1pk and 8pk) – M5283, M5284, M5285, M5335, M5336, M6027, M6028
• MOMA Cranberry & Raisin Porridge Pot 70g (1pk, 8pk and 12pk) – M5293, M5294, M5295, M5321, M5322, M5329, M5330, M5331
• MOMA Golden Syrup Porridge Pot 70g (1pk, 8pk and 12pk) – M5241, M5244, M5245, M5261, M5293, M5311, M5314, M5346, M5349
• MOMA Plain No-Added Sugar Porridge Pot 65g (1pk and 12pk) – M5279, M5280, M5281, M5308, M5309, M5310, M5311, M5345,
• MOMA Almond Butter & Salted Caramel Porridge Sachets 7x40g (1pk and 5pk) – M5289, M5290
• MOMA Apple, Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Porridge Sachets 6x40g (1pk and 5pk) – M5293, M5294, M5295

MOMA Foods added: “Even though the chance of contamination of any of the above products being affected is low, we have taken this precautionary step to ensure the safety of our consumers.”

The company confirmed that no other products are affected.

Walkers crisp recall

(Image: PepsiCo/Mark Mackenzie)

A packet of crisps sold at UK supermarkets has been recalled by Walkers and shoppers are being warned “do not eat” the affected item.

Walkers is recalling its six-pack of Hot Honey crisps, which can be purchased from Tesco, Ocado and more retailers, because they could contain a Mild Cheese & Onion seasoning which contains milk and is not correctly labelled.

The company said: “Although this product includes precautionary allergen labelling for milk, milk is not included in the ingredients list and therefore the product poses a risk to people with an allergy to milk.”

The affected batch is the six-pack of 25g bags with a best before date of May 16, 2026 and the batch code GBB 584 031.

Hot Honey Walkers! 🔥🍯 At B&M @walkers_crisps #walkerscrisps #hothoney #crisps #wellthisisnew pic.twitter.com/T16lnbpDJU

— Well This Is New (@All_Things_New_) February 8, 2026

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The Food Standards Agency  (FSA) has warned the product may contain milk, which makes it a “possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to milk or intolerance to milk or milk constituents.”

It added: “If you have bought the above product and have an allergy to milk do not eat it.

“Instead, please call the Consumer Care Line on 0800 274 777 or visit contact.pepsico.com/walkers to receive a full refund.”

Walkers confirmed that “no other Batch Codes on this Best Before Code are affected”.

A PepsiCo spokesperson said: “We are recalling a specific batch of Walkers Hot Honey 6 x 25g multipacks from specific UK retailers and wholesalers.

“Some of the packets may contain Mild Cheese & Onion seasoning rather than Hot Honey, meaning the product is incorrectly labelled and may pose a risk to people with an allergy to milk.

“This applies only to product with the impacted batch code.

“No other Walkers or PepsiCo products are in scope for this recall.

“The quality and safety of our products is of paramount importance to us and we sincerely apologise for the error.

“We are working with the Food Standards Agency, impacted retailers and allergen groups to inform consumers.”

What is a product recall?

If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be ‘withdrawn’ (taken off the shelves) or ‘recalled’ (when customers are asked to return the product).

The FSA issues Product Withdrawal Information Notices and Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food.

In some cases, a ‘Food Alert for Action’ is issued.

This provides local authorities with details of specific actions to be taken on behalf of consumers.

John Ashby, 32, has been jailed for life for the religiously aggravated rape and abuse of a Sikh woman

An “Islamophobe” who poses an “extreme danger to women” has been jailed for life for the religiously aggravated rape and abuse of a Sikh woman.

John Ashby, 32, followed the victim off a bus and forced his way into her home with a stick in Walsall, the West Midlands, in October. He subjected the woman to a stream of Islamophobic abuse during the “deeply disturbing attack”, wrongly believing she was Muslim, the court heard.

Sentencing him at Birmingham Crown Court to a minimum term of 14 years in prison on Friday, Mr Justice Pepperall described Ashby as a “deeply unpleasant racist and Islamophobe”. “You post an extreme danger to women and no reliable way to say how long you remain a danger,” the judge said.

Ashby pleaded guilty to the attack on the second day of his trial at the same court on Tuesday. Prosecutor Phil Bradley KC told jurors: “Despite her screams, he told her to take her clothes off, he struck her with the stick, and he put his hands around her neck to strangle her and demanded that she climb into the bathtub. Throughout the attack he racially and religiously abused her.”

Body-worn police footage showing the victim after the attack was played to jurors during the trial. The woman was comforted by a female officer as she described how her attacker had called her a “bloody Muslim b****” and had raped her inside a bathroom, armed with a piece of wood. Witnesses described the woman as screaming in distress following the attack.

In a video interview played to the court, the woman told police: “He had a stick in his hand. I said ‘who are you’ and I started screaming. He switched off the light. He said ‘I just want fun with you’. He said ‘you are a f****** Muslim bitch, I said I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh.”

The prosecution said the attack only came to an end because Ashby was “evidently spooked by a noise outside” and ran away, taking the victim’s jewellery and a mobile phone.

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Victims says she struggles to recognise herself after attack

In a victim impact statement read to court, the woman said she “felt violated” within her own home and that experienced panic attacks following the attack, having to take antidepressants and sleeping medication “to cope with everyday life”.

She said: “Before life was great, I was happy and doing well in my job. I was enjoying life. I had plans for the future.” She added that she and her partner were due to marry in January.

“My life has drastically changed. I feel lost, I struggle to recognise myself. I’m still hyper-aware of every noise I’m hearing… everything makes me jump, I’m constantly on edge,” the statement said, with the victim appearing visibly upset as it was read.

The court heard a victim impact statement from the woman’s partner, which told how he has also suffered from anxiety attacks as a result of the attack. “Seeing her struggle to cope has been unbearable at times,” he said.

Man got up and swore at Ashby as distressing video interview was played to court

As the video interview in which the woman described the attack to police was played to jurors on Tuesday, a man left the public gallery and approached the glass-fronted dock and swore at Ashby, telling him: “You need to sort your s**t out.” Ashby responded by telling the man to “get the f*** out of my face” and also shouted at another member of the public who remained seated in the public gallery.

Rav Dhillon, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said on Tuesday that it was a “deeply disturbing attack driven by religious hatred” and carried out “against an innocent woman in her own home, where she would expect to feel safest”.

“The CPS worked closely together with West Midlands Police to build a robust case which included CCTV footage, DNA evidence and witness testimony, and the strength of that evidence left the defendant no choice but to plead guilty.”

Ashby has 10 previous convictions, including two for violence, one for possession of an offensive weapon and seven for property offences.

The Belgian Grand Prix, for example, is starting a new contract where it hosts four races in six years between 2026-31.

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Formula 1 ranks among the world’s foremost sporting events, distinguished by its spectacle, its young fan base, and its leadership in automotive technologies.

“In our country, too, Formula 1 enjoys a broad following across all age groups – especially among our youth – with a truly passionate fanbase.

“The races reach nearly 19 million people in our country, while around 7.5 million follow them closely on social media.

“I regard Turkey’s return to the Formula 1 calendar as a clear reflection of the strong confidence placed in our country – in our robust organisational capacity, in our modern sports and healthcare infrastructure, and, of course, in the renowned hospitality of the Turkish nation.”

F1 president Stefano Domenicali said: “We are delighted to be returning to the incredible and vibrant city of Istanbul from 2027 to thrill all our fans in Turkey and around the world on one of the most exciting and challenging circuits in Formula 1.

“As a city, Istanbul represents a cultural gateway between Europe and Asia, offering a unique blend of history and tradition with a forward-thinking approach to sport, business, and entertainment.”

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two young people have been arrested in an alleged plot to attack a Texas synagogue that involved driving through the congregation to “kill as many Jews as possible,” according to authorities and court documents.

The arrests come a month after an armed man crashed his pickup truck into a major Detroit-area synagogue in another attack on Jewish people. Synagogues around the world have increased security and protections for worshippers since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran on Feb. 28.

Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, North Carolina, was being held Thursday in the Davidson County jail under a $10 million bond, jail records show. She was arrested Wednesday and formally charged with conspiring with two “male subjects” to commit murder and assault against members of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston on April 21, 2028, according to warrants laying out two felony counts against her.

The FBI office in Charlotte said Thursday in a social media post that a juvenile was arrested in relation to the plot and charged in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. There was no immediate information on whether the juvenile was one of the two male subjects identified in Hicks’ warrants, which listed only their first names and noted their last names as “unknown.”

A Houston Police Department news release on Thursday announced a 16-year-old being arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder related to “a threat directed towards certain Jewish institutions in our area” that the agency learned about Wednesday. The department didn’t identify Congregation Beth Israel specifically. The FBI and the Houston school district police department assisted in the arrest.

“At this time, there is no other known credible threat,” the release said.

Explaining why Hicks’ detention was necessary, District Court Judge Carlton Terry wrote Wednesday in part that the alleged “conspiracy is to kill as many Jews as possible by driving through a congregation at a synagogue.”

“Allowing a co-conspirator a chance to communicate with either of those individuals or those who could relay a message puts lives at risk,” Terry added.

The FBI said its Charlotte Joint Terrorism Task Force began the investigation Tuesday evening after a tip to a North Carolina law enforcement agency.

While Hicks’ warrants point to a potential attack two years from now, Alan Martin — a senior assistant district attorney covering Davidson County — said in an interview that there had been “some concern that there could be an imminent event” targeting the Houston synagogue. A potential motive for the planned violence wasn’t immediately disclosed in North Carolina court documents. The investigation is continuing.

Attempts to speak by phone with Hicks’ court-appointed attorney were unsuccessful Thursday. The lawyer, Chad Freeman, told the Houston Chronicle that the case was in its early stages and Hicks’ youth could be a factor in her defense.

“I anticipate getting numerous experts involved in the case to look at both investigatory and possible forensic matters,” Freeman told the newspaper. Her next scheduled hearing is May 13.

Congregational Beth Israel is the oldest Jewish house of worship in Texas, founded in the 1850s. It also operates a school going up to fifth grade. The Charlotte FBI’s social media post Thursday mentioned an alleged planned attack at a Jewish school.

The potential threats communicated to congregation leadership by Houston police prompted Beth Israel to close on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston wrote in a social media post. The campus reopened Thursday, the federation said.

“The safety and security of the Houston Jewish community is of utmost importance to all of us,” the federation wrote.

Lexington is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of Raleigh.

The FBI said Ayman Ghazali sought to inflict as much damage as he could on Jewish people when he drove his pickup truck March 12 into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Ghazali, 41, was armed when the truck smashed through doors and into the hallway of an early childhood education area, striking a security guard. He then exchanged gunfire with another guard before fatally shooting himself. No one else among the 150 children and staff was injured.

Ghazali, a Lebanese-born man who was a U.S. citizen, had learned a week before the attack that four of his family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in his native country.

__

Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan, contributed to this report.

Downing Street has insisted that the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is “not in question” following reports the US could review Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands as revenge for a lack of support in the Iran war.

An internal Pentagon email set out options for Mr Trump’s administration to punish Nato allies for refusing to join the US-Israeli strikes against Iran.

The memo, first reported by Reuters, suggests reassessing US ‌diplomatic support for “imperial possessions” such as the Falklands.

But on Friday morning, No 10 insisted that “sovereignty rests with the UK”, adding that Britain will not be “pressured on the Iran war”.

It came as Admiral Lord West of Spithead – the commanding officer of HMS Ardent, a frigate that was sunk in the Falklands War – told The Independent the reports were an “insult to the autonomous, self-reliant and free people of the Falkland Islands”, adding: “How dare they!”

But he also dismissed the threats, saying that, militarily, losing US support for British sovereignty would have “no impact”.

“The recognition or otherwise by the US does not make the islands less secure,” the former Royal Navy commander-in-chief added.

Asked about the reports, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The Falkland Islands have hugely voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory, and we’ve always stood behind the islanders’ right to self-determination and the fact that sovereignty rests with the UK.”

The spokesman was also asked if Britain was ready to defend the islands from any threats, and replied: “The question of the Falkland Islands and the UK’s sovereignty and the islanders’ right to self-determination is not in question, and we’ve expressed that position clearly and consistently.”

Pressed further if the UK could defend the Falklands, he described the question as a “hypothetical”, adding: “That is not the situation we are in.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said a potential US policy review was “absolute nonsense”, and compared it to Donald Trump’s previous threat to annex Greenland.

“The Falkland Islands are British, they have been for a very long time. The sovereignty is British sovereignty,” she told broadcasters.

“I don’t know what Donald Trump is talking about. This sounds like the sort of thing he was saying when it came to Greenland.

“I don’t think we need to take it that seriously just yet, we need to make sure that we are very determined in protecting British sovereign territory, and that includes the Falkland Islands as well as Chagos.”

Now a British Overseas Territory, the Falkland Islands’ defence is provided by the United Kingdom at a permanent military base, RAF Mount Pleasant, which was built on the Falklands and opened in 1985 by the Duke of York.

The base, which is solely operated by British forces and is not shared with the US, is a key military asset, as it forms the centre of the British military’s presence in the South Atlantic, with between 1,300 and 1,700 military and civilian personnel based there at any one time.

The leaked memo, which includes an option to reassess US diplomatic support for longstanding European “imperial possessions”, such as the Falkland Islands, lays bare the tense relations between Britain and the Trump administration, which have broken down in the wake of the Iran war.

The islands are administered by the UK but are still claimed by Argentina, whose libertarian president, Javier Milei, is a Trump ally.

Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over the islands after Argentina made a failed bid to take them. Some 650 Argentine soldiers and 255 British troops died before Argentina surrendered.

The US president has hit out repeatedly at Nato allies since he launched his offensive in Iran, branding the alliance a “paper tiger” and threatening to withdraw from the alliance altogether.

He has also repeatedly attacked Britain and Sir Keir Starmer, saying he was “no Winston Churchill” after he initially refused to grant a request from the US to attack Iran from British bases.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the US War Department will ensure Mr Trump “has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part”.

“As President Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our Nato allies, they were not there for us,” she said.

Mr Trump has also openly considered withdrawing from Nato, asking, “Wouldn’t you if you were me?” when questioned about the possibility of a US pullout earlier this month.

Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed he underwent treatment for early-stage prostate cancer.

The Israeli prime minister, 76, announced on Friday that he had been treated for a malignant tumour following surgery on an enlarged prostate at the end of 2024.

He said that he had asked to delay the publication of his annual medication report, released today, to avoid it being shared at the height of the Iran conflict.

Netanyahu insisted he is now “healthy” and “in excellent condition”, after electing to have targeted treatment.

“A year and a half ago, I underwent successful surgery for an enlarged benign prostate, and since then I have been under routine medical monitoring,” he said.

“In the last monitoring, a tiny spot of less than a centimetre was discovered in the prostate. Upon examination, it turned out to be a very early stage of a malignant tumour, with no spread or metastases whatsoever.”

He said he elected to undergo treatment at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem that “removed the problem and left no trace of it”.

He said he had been advised he could undergo treatment to “remove the problem” or live with it.

“You already know me. When I’m given information in time about a potential danger, I want to address it immediately,” he said.

“This is true on the national level and also on the personal level. That’s what I did.”

Netanyahu said he had sought to delay the publication of his health report by two months “in order not to allow the Iranian terror regime to spread even more false propaganda against Israel”.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It was 1972 and Apollo astronauts Harrison “Jack” Schmitt and Eugene Cernan had just stepped onto the moon’s surface to begin collecting rock and soil samples.

The mission would mark the end of an era for the American space program, but Schmitt already was looking to the future. His voice crackling over a high-frequency radio signal that day, he shared his thoughts with Cernan and those listening in at Mission Control.

“Well, I tell you Gene, I think the next generation ought to accept this as a challenge. Let’s see them leave footsteps like these someday,” Schmitt said.

Schmitt, 90, is one of the four Apollo moonwalkers still alive today. A field geologist, he was the first scientist to set foot on the moon and his expertise helped answer questions about the origin of that big rock up there and what it tells us about the solar system.

Schmitt felt the thrill again when the Artemis II crew rocketed into space on a historic lunar flyby. Pure excitement and the potential for so much more. And he’s hopeful as new generations get back to the moon and beyond.

Interviewed by The Associated Press, the former U.S. senator from New Mexico spoke about everything from the importance of having a lunar base to tapping new energy sources and whether we’re alone in the universe. Dark matter and quantum entanglement also were mentioned, with Schmitt saying many discoveries are yet to come.

“You’ve just got to remember,” he said, “what used to be called supernatural probably should be called unknown physics.”

This interview has been edited for brevity.

Q: What about having a lunar base?

Well, I think a lunar base makes a lot of sense and it always has for a lot of reasons. One is geopolitical. Probably the most important one is a geopolitical presence in deep space — and in preparation for going on to Mars.

The moon has resources that are going to reduce the cost of actually going to Mars and it gains experience. One of the things people keep forgetting about is you’ve gone through several generations and the new generation has to gain experience — psychologically as well as practically about how you work in deep space. And they’re doing that. That was probably the most important part of Artemis II, is it gave the ground people, Mission Control and others, the experience now to really have the risk as real rather than as part of a simulation.

Q: What was your mission during Apollo 17?

I had a lot of understanding of what other crews had learned, what had been learned from some of the early sample analyses and so we were trying to put sort of the frosting on the cake of answering questions in a very complex geologic area called Taurus-Littrow.

Taurus-Littrow actually is deeper than the Grand Canyon and so it has a three-dimensional aspect to it that we hadn’t had on other missions. And plus having a field geologist like myself on board meant that we should be more efficient at gathering samples that had a meaningful aspect to our further understanding of the origin of the moon, its relationship to the Earth and, it turns out, also its relationship to the history of the sun.

Q: So we’re building upon our knowledge of the universe around us?

Well there’s no question that the moon has a history to tell us.

It’s been recording the history of the solar system ever since the solar system formed about 4.5 billion years ago. That is really what the moon gives us — that library of knowledge, of potential knowledge about how the solar system evolved and then what the sun has been doing in that 4.5 billion years.

In the recent work that I’ve been doing in that layer of debris, the regolith, we find that the sun became even more active than it had been about the same time as we had an explosion of life in the oceans on Earth, and so the oceans may have been and almost certainly were warming to that more active sun and life likes warmth. So it multiplied not only in quantity but in diversity. The mammals started to appear soon after that, life started to move up onto the continents that had formed so things were really starting to move about a half-billion years ago.

Q: Tell us about the moon rocks

This is a sample of a basalt lava and we have a lot of basalt lavas here in New Mexico. This is different in that it is rich in titanium, more rich than most terrestrial basalts. And that titanium turns out to be very important in terms of the resources that are available on the moon. It has a property of concentrating some of those resources, particularly hydrogen and helium.

There’s an isotope called helium-3 and that is going to be, I think, ultimately very, very important in the production of energy. It’s going to be extremely useful in quantum computing, in cancer therapy and other things here on Earth. We just don’t have much on Earth, so the moon is going to be a our reservoir, our source of this very important isotope of helium-3.

Q: How important will this isotope be in the future?

Helium-3 offers a possibility of having nuclear energy without nuclear waste. We’ve known that for decades, and so the moon now offers that opportunity to begin to substitute a nuclear form of energy that doesn’t produce nuclear waste for what we have today.

Q: Is it just as much an energy race as a space race?

There’s no question about it. China is interested in it, we’re interested in it. And that’s probably one of the big technological drivers of this new race to the moon, a new space race, a Cold War that’s on now primarily involving China and I think helium-3 is a big actor in that right now.

Q: What was it like in the Taurus-Littrow Valley?

First of all, we were in a valley deeper than the Grand Canyon. The mountains on either side were as high as the Grand Canyon from the bottom. Secondly, you’re in one-sixth gravity so that means you can walk much more easily than you could here on Earth. Now we were covered by a pressure suit but still walking around was like being a kid again, just one-sixth of your height and if you fell you didn’t fall very hard and you certainly didn’t cry about it. But the moon is really a very easy place to work so as long as you have the right equipment surrounding you. You have to have that atmosphere of course to breathe.

Q: Any downsides to working in a weightless environment?

For me, it was a very comfortable environment to be in and you get a little bit lazy. For example, if you’re taking notes with a pad of paper and a pen or pencil and somebody says would you take the SCS switch to off, well you just let go and it floats there and you go over to the switch and come back and start to dictate those notes again.

You’ve got to be careful though because you’re brain gets lazy. When I got on the carrier after splashdown, I was taking my first drink of water and I just let go of the cup and of course it broke on the floor. Human beings tend to take advantage of their environment very quickly and the brain does get a little bit lazy like that. It took about three days to get comfortable again back here on Earth.

Q: So we’ll have no problem living on the moon?

No, I think living on the moon is going to be very good. Now long term civilization on the moon, there’s still some major issues. The radiation issue has to be dealt with and we can. There are ways to do that. Going to Mars is another issue and that’s why you’ll almost certainly need fusion rockets to cut that time frame.

Q: We’ve heard a lot lately about UFOs. What are your thoughts on that?

Well there are billions of sunlike stars out there and so you just have to imagine that life may have originated on some other planet, although the conditions for life to originate here on Earth are really unique. Everything sort of fit together and creation for us sort of leads to you thinking of an infinitely intelligent being that made it all happen. But the technical potential statistically is very high that you could have had the similar kind of conditions develop elsewhere in the universe.

Now are they visiting us? My feeling is if they’re really so advanced they could be here, they’d communicate better than they have and so I just don’t know. But it’s plausible. Let’s put it that way. Unlikely maybe, but plausible.

Q: Would you take the opportunity to go back to the moon or to Mars?

Oh surely. Teresa, my wife, would like very much to go with me — that would be one condition. But I think a trip to Mars is going to be fantastic for those people.

So youth is extremely important and the education of those youth particularly in mathematics is extraordinarily important, and NASA now has a younger agency than they had grown to be during the shuttle era.

Look what has happened since Apollo. The commercial sector has developed new technologies, new ways of doing things and NASA is now trying to integrate those into a new approach to deep space exploration.

Head coach Eddie Howe says he is looking forward to sitting down with Newcastle United‘s owners next week to “express things from my perspective”.

Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and a delegation from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) are due to visit the north east of England next week.

The meetings at Matfen Hall in Northumberland were scheduled long before Newcastle slipped to 14th place in the Premier League.

Similar summits took place last season as the club’s hierarchy once again convenes for department meetings and discussions about future plans, including long-term infrastructure projects.

“It something that happens regularly so it’s nothing out of the norm for us,” Howe said.

“I always like the chance to talk directly to the owners and to express things from my perspective.

“It’s something we have always done and I look forward to that next week.”

Although Howe’s future has come under increasing scrutiny from those outside the club, the head coach has been heavily involved in preparations for next season, including pre-season plans and discussions about transfers.

It is set to be a busy window for Newcastle amid doubts over the long-term situations of a number of key players such as Anthony Gordon, Tino Livramento and Sandro Tonali.

Following a run of eight defeats in 11 games in the Premier League, Howe acknowledged “there might be bigger changes in the summer than was maybe previously thought”.

“It’s about attitude, commitment to the team,” he said. “I think the players would expect that, I think they understand the demands and the role they’re in.

“It’s a high-demand, high-pressure role where you’re constantly judged and people are making assessments over your future.

“There’s a responsibility in every moment to try to be at your best. That responsibility falls on me as well to make sure I’m delivering the best I can for the players and staff to create an environment we can win in.

“It goes with the territory and I think the players understand it.”

“I don’t like the politics of Reform, I stand up to the politics of Reform at all times, I don’t want to see them gaining a foothold in the governance of any part of the United Kingdom, because I think they will just spread further division and disagreement and hostility within our society.”